A/N: Everyone has been so patient for the brothers to get back together. I am posting again so we can get there in the next chapter. I hope you have been enjoying this AU and the path I took. It was fun to write and create. NC

Chapter 24

The drive north was going smoothly, and Dean decided to stop in Kalispell to pick up some milk, bread, and eggs, and fill the Impala before heading on to the cabin. He would be happy to get back to where he was isolated and did not have to deal with people for a while. He never knew how annoying they could be until now. He had not quiet mastered filtering out other peoples' emotions yet and it was annoying.

After getting his groceries, Dean headed for the cabin as a storm passed over soaking the landscape. He pulled up to the cabin and gathered his things before making a dash for the porch. He sat his bags down and dug the key out to open the door to go inside. Dean took his food to the kitchen first and then went downstairs to turn on the breakers. He braved the pouring rain to get the water turned on out back. Once he hung his coat to dry, he took his bags to the bedroom and unpacked.

It felt good to be back in familiar surroundings. After grabbing a beer, he flipped on the television to see if there was anything on the few channels that he picked up. He settled on an old western and relaxed on the couch sipping his beer. He was restless and could feel the stirring inside of him that wanted to be free. He had the volume on the television turned down low and closed his eyes as he listened to the rain outside. He controlled his breathing and turned his mind inward to seek out the beast once again. He had not taken the time to mediate the last few days and felt the need now.

He knew the beast had saved his life in the convenience store and helped him get away from the scene. Dean was cautious as he probed his mind feeling a closer connection to the beast than the first time. He could not shake the feeling that there was something familiar about it, but he still had not been able to figure out why. He could feel the power and rage as he touched the beast. It was not fighting him like before and did not pull away this time.

"Soon," Dean mumbled to himself as the beast trembled with desire. "Very soon."

He pulled back and opened his eyes to see the movie was over and some other random program was on. The rain had slacked up and darkness was falling outside. It still surprised him the amount of time that would pass when he was under. He got up, deciding to get ready for bed and write in his journal before going to sleep.

Dean headed for the bathroom to do his routine and then stepped into the bedroom to change. He turned down the covers and positioned the pillows so he could lean against the headboard. He picked up his journal and a pen and turned to a blank page to begin writing. It helped him to document his experiences and of course he kept records of the cases he worked and the monsters he took down. Dean liked to keep track of the monsters, old and new, so he would have the information for future use.

He read what he wrote and made a few extra notes here and there on things he had left out. Dean leaned his head back and frowned when he thought about other hunts and realized there were small fragments missing from his memory. He knew this had to do with the last monster he took down and was glad he was not missing that much memory. He tried to focus harder but only gave himself a headache. Not wanting it to get worse, he stopped and laid his journal aside and adjusted his pillows so he could lay down. He worked on relaxing and letting his mind wind down and not dwell on anything. Tomorrow night would start the full moon cycle and he had to prepare himself.

spn

Sam pulled into the town limits of Salmon trying to decide on a motel for the night. He pulled into a Motel 6 and to the lit sign that said office. He got out and headed for the door, looking up as a bell rang over his head when he entered making him frown.

May I help you?" an older man asked from behind a counter.

"I'd like a room for the night, double…" Sam started but paused when it struck him, he did not need a double.

"Is something wrong sir? Do you want a double?" he asked slowly when he saw Sam falter.

"No, a single is fine," he replied pulling a credit card from his wallet to pay. He was road tired and was ready for a bed and a good night's sleep but did not think he would get either until he did some research first. Sam needed to know if Dean had been here and if he might still be around. He filled out the paperwork and took the room key so he could move his car around to the back in front of the room.

He got out and grabbed his bag from the back before opening the door and stepping inside. Sam did not pay much attention to the room since he had more important things on his mind. He dropped his bag in a chair and stepped into the bathroom.

When he came out, Sam took off his jacket and pulled his laptop from its bag. He sat up at the small table and booted it up, drumming his fingers on the tabletop while the desktop came up. He went online and searched for articles that might shed some light on what brought Dean to this town.

He scrolled down the list and almost to the end before he stopped when he found an article about the comatose victims that had been admitted into the hospital. Sam read on about how the doctors were stumped as to what put them in a coma. Another article told that two of the victims had succumbed to their illness and there was no hope for the other three. There were a couple of other ones that just repeated the information of the first one, still stating nothing had been found to help the comatose patients.

Sam was sure this was it. This was what brought Dean here. He looked further and found one about a convenience store clerk being murdered at the end of his shift. He had been attacked and shot numerous times, but were baffled to find nothing had been taken, not even the money from the cash register. The clerk's body was not found until the next day when someone called the cops because they saw the body through the glass door. The security equipment had been smashed and they had no leads to who might have committed the crime. Sam did not have any doubt that the death was his brother's doing. He did not know what monster he had been chasing, but it had to be the store clerk.

At least Sam knew he was on the right track and his brother might be here or he had probably left after killing the monster but might be close. Where he would have gone was the question. He closed his laptop and decided the best thing for him to do was go to bed and try to rest. He needed to be sharp to figure out where his brother would have gone from here.

Sam changed clothes and got into bed turning off the lamp before settling down. He took a few deep, slow breaths trying to cleanse his body and calm his mind, but he still felt like he was driving. He rolled over and punched his pillow a couple of times as he buried his head into it again.

Sam listened to the strange noises that surrounded him and zeroed in on a soft ping, ping, ping, coming from somewhere outside his room. The longer he listened to the soft noise, the sleepier he became until he drifted into a light sleep. It was plagued with dreams of his brother in different situations, but none ever ended, they just moved on to another possible scenario. Sam tossed restlessly, but never woke. The dreams finally faded away and he slept a little deeper the last half of the night.

spn

Morning light was streaming through the curtained windows when Sam pulled himself from sleep. He lay there letting his body wake for a few minutes before making himself get up and take a shower. He was going to drive around the town to be sure he did not spot the Impala still in town. He thought it was unlikely Dean was still here, but he wanted to be sure.

After he showered and dressed, he decided to call Bobby to let him know what he had found. He pulled up his contacts and found the number, pressing dial and listened to it ring.

"Sam, how are things going?" Bobby greeted him.

"I found out where Dean was a few days ago. He was working a case in Salmon, Idaho. I'm not sure what, but I'm sure he killed the monster and has left."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Drive around town to be sure he's gone and look to see if there are any other hunts nearby, he might check out."

"At least you're on his trail. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanna find him and be sure he's okay."

"I know son, if I hear anything, I'll give you a call."

"Alright Bobby. I'll talk to you later." Sam hung up and packed his bags to leave. He decided to give it an hour or so of checking out the town before finding a café with Wi-Fi to see if anything popped nearby that Dean might be interested in. He headed to the car and put his bags in the backseat before dropping into the driver's seat. He left the motel and drove around to some other motels and restaurants looking for the Impala. He knew Dean's hangouts when he was on a job but was not having any luck. Sam though he had found him when he spotted a black Impala, but it turned out to be someone else.

When his stomach started to growl, Sam decided to have lunch before deciding his next move. He found a diner and took a table in the back so he could have some privacy. Once he ordered, Sam got online and used his favorite search engine to look around for possible cases. The first search did not turn up anything promising, and he huffed his disappointment. He closed out of the site when he saw his waitress coming with his food.

Sam was eating his lunch when his computer dinged that one of his programs had found something. He had set up a program to track Dean's credit cards, cell numbers, and the Impala's license plate number. He used one hand to open the program and see what it found. He scanned the screen and saw a credit card had been used in Kalispell, Montana a couple of days ago. That would put it around the time that Dean left Salmon. He was not sure what he would be doing up there.

Sam's cell vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to see Bobby was calling him.

"Hello Bobby," Sam answered.

"Sam, I just got a call from a hunter friend and he said he saw Dean in Kalispell, Montana a while back. He disappeared before he could talk to him. He didn't get the message about me looking for him until a couple of days ago and had to finish a hunt before he could call."

"I just got a hit on one of Dean's credit cards that was used in Kalispell a couple of days ago."

"You know what's up that way, don't you?" Bobby questioned.

Sam thought a minute as he focused on the name and where it was on a map of Montana. He sat up straight when it dawned on him what was up there. Whitefish was where Rufus had a cabin that they had used once or twice and would be the perfect place for Dean to lay low.

"I'm heading to Whitefish Bobby. I'll call you later," Sam said hanging up before he could say anything else and closed his laptop. He quickly stored it and ate the last bite of food and drank his coffee before pulling some bills out to leave as payment. He gathered his things and headed for the front door knowing where he needed to go. There was a spring in his step now and Sam was sure Dean was at the cabin, but why he would not tell him still puzzled him.

A/N: Sam has found Dean and is on his way to him. Things will not go as planned. Thank you for reading my story. Thank you to any guest who have left reviews that I can't personally thank. Reviews would be great. NC